This page aims to help you remove Alma Locker. These Alma Locker removal instructions work for all versions of Windows.

If you’re wondering why your files are now encrypted and you can’t access them, then here you are going to find answers and solutions to your trouble. Simply put Alma Locker encrypts your files. And yes, you are in trouble because the encryption that is keeping your files locked is very nasty Ransomware known as Alma Locker. This infection has most probably come to you like a bolt from the blue and you are surely seeking for ways to get rid of it and restore your data. While this could be quite a challenging task, with the help of our removal guide below you may be able to effectively clean your system from Alma Locker and even recover some of your files. Not only that, but you will also gain a better understanding of ransomware threats in general and will be able to efficiently protect yourself in the future. Do spend a few minutes to read this piece and you will surely not regret it.

How can file encryption be turned into a nightmare?

There is one special and very strong way to protect digital data and it is known as encryption. This is a super complex combination of symbols that is unique and is used as the safest known and almost unbreakable method to secure sensitive information online. The encryption method is widely used worldwide to protect digital data from unauthorized access and many users benefit from the strong level of privacy it provides. However, there are people with malicious intentions, who have found a way to turn that benefit into a really nasty form of robbery that is called Ransomware. This new cyber threat is recently spreading with great speed and becoming more popular among the cybercriminals. The latest addition to this group of malware is called Alma Locker. This notorious cryptovirus is locking users’ files with a strong encryption and demanding ransom if the victims want to unlock their files.

How does Alma Locker operate?

The way this malware infects and harms your system has nothing in common with the typical virus infections. It mostly spreads through massive spam e-mail campaigns, where the malicious hackers target a huge number of unsuspecting users. Usually, the harmful payload is masked in an attachment or a link that looks attractive and almost legitimate. A Trojan horse infection is also a backdoor for such kind of threats. That’s why it’s really hard for the average user to detect the malware without some advanced understanding about such online threats or proper antivirus protection. Therefore they easily get deluded or curious and click on the harmful content. That single interaction is enough for the ransomware to be activated and sneak into the system.

Once it has found its way in, Alma Locker silently starts to apply its special encryption to all the files that are available on the machine. Photos, videos, office files, projects and even the entire system may be “secured” with a strong algorithm that is preventing users from accessing the content. Unfortunately, there are hardly any symptoms that could indicate the presence of Alma Locker on the machine until the encryption is completed. A ransom note appears on the screen and reveals the harmful results only after the process is finished. This note contains a message from the cybercriminals, who are asking for a certain amount of money to be paid in exchange of a decryption key. They claim that with the help of that key victims would be able to decrypt their files and bring them back to normal. However, the crooks would trade it only for a payment in Bitcoins – a cyber currency which is impossible to trace. They provide all the details on how the payment should be made and usually give a very short deadline for that. The crooks don’t hesitate to even threaten the victims and use different manipulative methods to do that. The sole aim is, of course, to make them pay as soon as possible.

Don’t be manipulated!

The helpless situation that victims of Ransomware are experiencing is, with no doubt, really frustrating. However, this doesn’t mean that they should submit to the manipulative crooks and obey their demands. A little sober thinking would help them better understand the risks that they are exposed to in case they decide to pay the ransom. In the first place, there is no guarantee that once the payment is made the victims would get a decryption key. Very often the crooks don’t send anything back once they get the money or even if, by any chance, they give a decryption key, it may not really work and still leave the files permanently locked. Secondly, having active malware on the machine means that the system is vulnerable to any kind of attacks or viruses. The hackers may easily gain access to it and use it for their criminal deeds.

That’s why, if you get infected, it is a good idea to clean the system of the infection and prevent the crooks from accessing it instead of giving them your money. A much better alternative that would cost you nothing is to try the removal guide below. It will help you identify Alma Locker and manually delete it as well as save up the fat sum for the ransom. At the end, once you have cleaned the infection, make sure you protect your system with a good antivirus. Avoid clicking on spam emails in the future and keep a backup of your important data somewhere on an external device or a cloud. This would surely save you a lot of trouble.

SUMMARY:

Name

Alma Locker

Type

Ransomware

Danger Level

High (A very serious threat that encrypts your data and requires ransom to access it)

Symptoms

There are hardly any visible symptoms that could indicate the ransomware, while it’s running. A ransom note appears on the screen after the encryption is completed.

Right click on each of the virus processes separately and select Open File Location. End the process after you open the folder, then delete the directories you were sent to.

Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter. Once inside, press CTRL and F together and type the virus’s Name.

Search for the ransomware in your registries and delete the entries. Be extremely careful – you can damage your system if you make a big mistake.

Type each of the following in the Windows Search Field:

%AppData%

%LocalAppData%

%ProgramData%

%WinDir%

%Temp%

Delete everything in Temp. The rest just check our for anything recently added. Remember to leave us a comment if you run into any trouble!

How to Decrypt files infected with Alma Locker

There is only one known way to remove the virus’ encryption that MAY work (no guarantees) – reversing your files to a previous state. There are two options you have for this:

The first is using a system backup. Search for Backup and Restore in the windows search field —–> “Select another backup to restore files from”

If you have no backups, your option is Recuva

Go to the official site for Recuva and download its free version. When you start the program, select the file types you want to recover. You probably want all files. Next select the location. You probably want Recuva to scan all locations.

Click on the box to enable Deep Scan. The program will now start working and it may take a really long time to finish, so be patient and take a break if necessary.

You will now get a big list of files to pick from. Select all relevant files you need and click Recover.

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